Susan's Reviews > Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar

Having enjoyed Tom Holland’s excellent, “Rubicon,” I was very happy to have the chance to review this volume.. Subtitled, “The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar,” this follows on from “Rubicon,” which centred around Julius Caesar and his adopted heir, Octavian. The dynasty of Augustus still very defines autocratic power and the celebrity of the Caesar’s remains. Rome’s first imperial dynasty have everything that modern day celebrity desires, and more. It was a time of tyranny, power, sadism and glamour. Holland manages to combine historical accuracy with a readable account of the times.

In the beginning of this volume, Holland backtracks slightly (so if you have not yet read, “Rubicon,” you can happily read this book and have it make perfect sense), by taking the story up to the assassination of Julius Caesar. The upheaval of Julius Caesar’s murder eventually led to the Imperator Caesar Augustus and then Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. The very names themselves conjour all sorts of images of power and excess. Even though not very familiar with the history of the Caesar’s probably have read snippets about the Caesar’s – Nero who fiddled while Rome burned, Caligula who appointed his horse a consul, how Claudius was discovered cowering behind curtains and given power. Rumours of incest, poison, malicious power, cruelty, the love of a spectacle conspiracy, the show of power and the reality ; sumptuous wealth and disgraced exile…

Happily for the reader, this time of immense power and excess is wonderfully brought to life; not only through the lives of the Caesar’s, but through their family ties, wives and mothers and others who thankfully left letters and details of how they lived. One such was the poet Ovid, who was seem as immoral during the time of Augustus, when adultery became a public offence, but who looked positively staid by comparison with Caligula. A wonderful read – if you have already enjoyed, “Rubicon,” then you can also be sure that you will love this. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.